I have been appalled to see the sharp rise in threats and violence towards our hard-working shop workers here in St Helens North and across the country during the course of this pandemic.

Abuse against shop workers has doubled since the beginning of the crisis, with over half of staff experiencing verbal abuse and nearly a third having receiving threats from customers. This is completely unacceptable and must be met with decisive action from the Government.

I have worked closely with Usdaw Union and local shop reps on this issue over recent months, and I fully support my Labour colleague Alex Norris MP, who has spearheaded a campaign to tackle this vile behaviour and protect workers through a change in the law.

Our shop workers, alongside other key workers, have been amongst the heroes of this crisis. They always deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.